Chapter 3
Dusk
Joe’s cane taps harshly against the ground as he walks thought the halls of the von Richton estate, barley slowed by his incurable limp. Wright von Richton and two other hunters walk alongside the: Marin, and Charlit. Joe complains harshly as they walk. “It’s all coming apart at the seams, isn’t it? Belmond is AWAL, the Silinate is still alive, Sa-la-daynamO walks around in the open, and the Cravixs is close enough that I can feel his breath running down my neck as we speak.”
Joe growls as he points his cane rounding a corner “sixty years, sixty years I have dedicated to protecting this world from extra planner invaders and I sure as hell am not going to let it all fall apart now. I need Walker dead, I need Belmond’s whip, I need the Avatar Sword, and I need Sa-la-daynamO’s blood in a cup and I need it all before my birthday.”
Von Richton wipes her glasses clean as they talk “that is to say nothing of the idea that Tail Vixon has gone rogue as has Marks Karingson.”
Joe pretends to chuckle at the list of grievances “this sure has been a rough few months hasn’t it?”
Marin cuts in “do we have a plan for a counter attack?”
“yeah, we are going for hail marry. I have five would be super hero’s at my disposal. I am going to pay all my cards on the table and see what come up.”
Charlit starts counting up her fingers “Marin, me, Milli, David. Who is number five?”
Von Richton points out “Richard Blake.”
The door to the prison cell Blake has been rotting in for the better part of a decade slides open. Blake has been sitting in silence for most of that time, his hair hasn’t grown, his physic hasn’t changed, everything about him is just as it was almost ten years ago.
Von Richton walks into the room, her yellow tented glasses glow gold in the pail light. “Dick Blake, I, the horrible Wright von Richton, her by offer you your freedom once more in exchange for your services in wet work. You can except my generosity and mercy now or forever be left to anguish.”
The group stands for over a minute waiting for Blake’s reply. Blake sits staring back, unmoving unblinking. Marin leans into Charlit whispering “he is dead, he has to be, he isn’t breathing. He is dead, right?”
Charlit whispers back “I can still feel him thinking.”
Joe whispers with the two of them “he can’t die, he is a Ju-on. I could melt him in liquid steel and as soon as he is exposed to oxygen he will just grow a new body.”
Charlit jokes with them “if we saw him in half would he turn into two people or would one half evaporate and reform around the other?”
Joe looks interested “We can go get a bandsaw and find out.”
Von Richton joins in “I have been watching him for months, he hasn’t moved from that spot since July 9th
Blake takes a slow breath and with a silent exhale he goes from a uncanny toy to a living breathing man “It’s Richard, not Dick, Miss von Richton.”
Von Richton folds her hands behind her back “So then Mr. Blake. Are you prepared to set your life and liberty on the line in the name of the flag?”
Blake thinks about it for a time “What if I say ‘No, I was just starting to like it in hear.’”
Von Richton doesn’t miss a beat “Then I cement the door shut when I leave.”
Blake stand up. “can I have my gun, the Jessy James, back? And my kopesh?”
“of course.” Von Richton nods.
“and Tail?” Blake asks
“no longer with us.” Von Richton replies.
“you killed her?” Blake clinches and stretches his fingertips getting his feelings back.
“Agent Vixon chose to take her services elsewhere.”
“what year is it?”
“2008.” Von Richton explains
“Seven years I have been in this box? And still you and I are unchanged ms. Von Richton.”
A man runs up behind the party exclaiming “Madam von Richton, Arch Cardinal Magdalen st. Frances has sent a messenger for you.”
Von Richton turns to face Joe Dove. “Mr. Dove will you attend to the needs of the Jesuit?” she turns back to Blake “Have you considered your options?”
“do you have a case file for me to look at?” Blake looks form more information.
“your mission briefing will be ready to be viewed shortly. Duphrain, Davis, take Mr. Blake to the gallery. I will be joining you shortly.” Von Richton and Dove walk off.
***
In a nearby Room Milli Mallaguard sits in a cot, her room is like most of the others, six feet by nine feet, a bed, a sink and a stall. She has a number of posters around her room of young min and motorcycles. She unlike most of the demi-humans under lock and key has been afforded some freedoms; she has a short stack of books, a gunsmithing kit and she has been allowed to keep her personal ‘side arm’ RONA, a long gun too heavy for any human to lift, it is part flamethrower, part Tesla gun, and part chainsaw.
Milli has the overall look of a kangaroo. She is nine feet long when she outreaches her lags fully, but she tippicly stands crouched shrinking down to a manageable six and a half feet. One of her ears are missing and she has a scar running across one of her eyes that surly rip that eye out, the glass eye in its place is almost convincing, and that is only the scars that are visible at first glance.
Milli as she bounces a basketball off the wall of her room yells through the air vent to the cell conjoined to her’s. “So El, hear you are in lockup again.”
Marin after having woken El up earlier today felt inclined to smack him around some, El’s lip is cut open and one eye is swollen shut, his pinky on his right hand has also been wish-boned. rather then sending El to the med center she had just dropped off a field dressing kit and let him bandage his own wounds.
El takes the razer from the box and punchers skin under his eye to bleed out the swelling, he has already tied his fingers together to patch the wish bone. “who wants to know.” He calls back, happy to be privileged with any form of conversation.
“Agent Mallagaurd.”
“yeah.” El hold a towel to his face waiting for the bleeding to stop “what are you down her for?”
“being an illegal alien.”
“Mallagaurd? Are you from Norway by change?” El lays down close to the air vent so he can hear more clearly.
“Stith. I am the other kind of alien. The kind from outer space, not out of town. You were just down here with me a few weeks ago, weren’t you?” Milli enjoys her chat
“Yeah.” El replies
“So, what happened?”
“failed to execute a target within expected parameters.”
Milli’s ears twitch, she catches her ball and sits up looking at the door, she can detect movement behind it. She whispers with herself “two sets of footsteps, one, flat bottoms, hard soul, a secondary click suggest they are walking with a superfluous walking stick. That is Wright von Richton. The second rubber souled boots, custom cut, leathery brush, male, he has a trenching coat on, walking in step to hide himself. I don’t know who that is.”
Milli’s door unlocks, Milli reaches down to pick up her RONA ducking into a pouncing stance. The door opens revealing von Richton; with her glowing glasses and green three peace suit, short blond hair and lightly pinked skin.
Behind von Richton walks an elderly man with bronze skin and orange eyes, silver hair runs down his back like a cape, and he is wrapped in a WWII era allied trench coat, the scar of the war patches still visible.
In an instant Milli has scanned her memories and know just who that is. Dr. Marks Vigeta Karingson, one time war hero, former general serving with the allied forces, deserter, traitor, returned home two decades later and found a job as a major weapons developer with the think tank Claw Corporation, discovered a computer program that created replicated human ‘souls’, father of Tail Vixon the first bio organic computer. Marks died in an industrial accident in in 2000, somehow came back from the dead, younger and stronger than ever. The von Richton’s have been trying to catch him from years to learn his secrets.
Milli springs into action pushing von Richton aside to rush down Dr. Karingson “One side My Lady!”
Marks seems not to see, but feel, Milli’s charge. His hands held down to his sides in cavalier disregard Marks lowers his head letting Milli swing her saw over his head. Milli swings her mighty tail, Marks steps and slides back out of her reach. Milli growls and launches out with a shoulder rush, Marks transitions his weight on to one foot and with a hook of one hand and a push of the other he lets Milli trip herself.
Milli springs up to a crouching pose ready to jump again, she commands “Marks Karingson, you are under arrest for crimes against nature!” she Jumps forward into a thrust kick.
Marks rolls one hand out in a wing block pushing Milli at the wall “Not today. thank you.” His voice is soft but disinterested. Milli pivots into a side kick with her back lag. Marks uses one hand to grab her leg, his other hand reaches out to her noise and with two fingers he summons a blinding spark knocking Milli to the ground.
Von Richton steps out into the hall with them “thank you Ms. Mallagaurd, I will take things from here.” Von Richton steps between Marks and Milli tapping her staff to the ground as she mounts her feet into the ground. “Let’s see if your wing-chun works as well against me sorcerer.”
Marks head lowers with a half-smile, his long silver hair drifting before his eyes, spectral wind blowing around him “I am only interested in having a word with El Driver if it is all the same to you.”
Wright von Richton points her staff calling out a holy fire. Marks assume an astral form walking through von Richton and her magical attack. Marks passes though Wright and Milli, whom are helpless to stop him.
Marks slides into El’s room in his ghostly vaporous shape. “I’m sorry to keep you waiting Lt. Driver.”
El sits up staring at Marks with his now only one usable eye “Generale!”
“Lt., Lacerti is waiting from you. I will take you to him. That is if you are ready of course.” Marks offers a hand to El.
“there are three other prisoners her that we need to rescue; Nile Spelljamer, Jewel & Vern Driver.” EL pleads
Marks turns back to the door awaiting von Richton to knock the door down to continue their duel of wills. “I see no resin why not.”
***
With the rise of the next moon Meyu Darklair leads Razuki Lowe to the spires atop the estate she has claimed for herself. The childish looking girl stands atop the highest peak looking out to the village at the foot of the hill. “Do you want to know Razuki? What I am, what we are?”
With a skeptical gaze Razuki turns his eyes up to his mysterious friend “this is the point where you demonstrate that you are indeed in alien.”
The wind blows flicking about Meyu’s dress and hair in a mildly seductive way “in many ways I am suppressed my reviving you wasn’t evidence enough.”
“wise man once said ‘ any sufficiently advanced technology would be indistinguishable from magic.’ And I have no interest in being confused by magic.”
Meyu looks down “I feel like it was the same wise man that said ‘ordinary claims require ordinary evidence, extra ordinary claims call for extraordinary evidence.’ So, how does this bit of magic trick take you?” Meyu steps off the ledge becoming as buoyant in the air as she would in water floating weightlessly in the air.
Stunned by the trick N’s moth drops open losing the peppermint he had been sucking on. Meyu floats over she slides two fingers under Razuki’s chin and shares her levitation power with him as wall the two of them touch he becomes equaly weightless.
“I am a Guardian.” Meyu explains. “when the Tamreal Sa-la-daynamO came to this world he called on the aid of a dozen immortals from across the galaxy to help him safeguard the planet on which he would spend the rest of time. I am one. As is the man that you call Lacerti.”
Flabbergasted Razuki ask “who else shares this power?”
“the only other ones of us I have met are Aska the Forgotten and Walker the Silinite.” Meyu floats ever higher holding N passing though clouds and into the purest part of the sky. Looking down at the clouds they looks as if lakes passing underfoot.
Razuki tries to keep up his business minded face but he is as enchanted as anyone would be who has just acquired the dream of free flight. “what do you mean by safeguard?”
“there are a hand full of people on this planet that have the power to lock or unlock this realm at will. We were to find out whom has been granted this power and see to it that there secrets remain intact.”
“…and that is what the Keys of Salvation are?”
“Yes.” Meyu explains. “your mother had one of the keys. She passed it off to you before you left to join the Letters, and that is when I started fallowing you. She didn’t know what it was or how to use it. You on the other hand tapped into the key, used it to make yourself hyper observant and to stave off death for years after you had rightfully passed away. And that is where you faltered in your responsibility. Hidden within your breast the key still sits. You must give it away now or use it to aid us.”
Razuki looks around, he seems to have mimicked Meyu and is now floating on his own looking down at the world half a mile away. “how can I help?”
